Biodegradable Microneedle for Enhanced Transdermal Drug Delivery: Trends and Techniques

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Drug Delivery Systems
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Transdermal Drug Delivery Systems (TDDS) offer advantages like improved patient adherence and bypassing first-pass metabolism.
• However, TDDS faces limitations in delivering certain drugs effectively.
• Biodegradable microneedles (BMn) have emerged as a promising technology to overcome these limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review various types of biodegradable microneedles (BMn) and their fabrication methods.
• To highlight the potential of BMn in enhancing transdermal drug delivery.
• To discuss the growing applications of BMn in point-of-care devices and vaccine delivery.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on biodegradable microneedles (BMn).
• Categorization of BMn based on their form (hollow, solid, dissolve, hydrogel-forming).
• Discussion of fabrication techniques and mechanisms of action for BMn.

Main Results:

• BMn are fabricated in various forms and do not contain drugs directly.
• BMn facilitate drug delivery by creating channels that connect dermal microcirculation to drug patches.
• Several BMn types have undergone testing and regulatory approval.

Conclusions:

• BMn technology significantly improves TDDS, offering minimally invasive drug and vaccine administration.
• BMn-based point-of-care devices demonstrate high efficacy for analyte detection and drug delivery.
• Porous BMn technology holds substantial future potential for vaccine delivery systems.